Swords lowered in ’plan’ standoff
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Haziran 17, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - After the prime minister and the top military official meet, Prime Minister Erdoğan says he is happy with the way the army handled the inquiry into the source of an alleged military plan to dismantle Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.The prime minister then urges for civil and military investigations to reach conclusions quickly on the matter
The General Staff’s handling of the alleged military plan targeting the ruling party is sound but the investigations by the military and the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office should be concluded quickly, the Turkish prime minister said Tuesday.
"The General Staff has displayed a sensitive approach to allegations about a military plan to finish off the AKP [ruling Justice and Development Party]," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan said in an address to his party’s parliamentary group meeting Tuesday.    Â
"The military launched an investigation into whether such a document was forged or real and also said they will follow up on the issue," he said. "Its approach has been met with satisfaction in the public opinion, but both military and civil investigations into the claims should reach a speedy conclusion."
ErdoÄŸan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Ä°lker BaÅŸbuÄŸ came together Tuesday in meeting that lasted more than an hour; their regular meeting normally takes place every Thursday.
The meeting came at a time when tension had seemingly risen between the General Staff and the Prime Ministry after daily Taraf ran a banner headline story last week on an alleged clandestine military plot targeting the AKP and a religious sect named after its controversial leader, Fethullah Gülen.
There was no statement after the meeting at the Prime Ministry, but in his address to his party’s parliamentary group meeting later Tuesday, Erdoğan gave moderate messages that aimed to reduce the tension.
In its Monday statement, the military announced that it came to the conclusion that no unit of the General Staff had prepared the alleged document, but the military was criticized by some media institutions for making ambiguous statements about whether the document was forged or real. Government officials, meanwhile, expressed their dissatisfaction with the army’s statement, asking for further military efforts to reach a conclusion on the issue.
"If the allegations are false and aim to provoke and cause confrontation between state institutions, that would be grave," ErdoÄŸan said.
"If the allegations are true, that would be even graver," he said.
Erdoğan also reiterated his government’s determination to take legal action to reveal who was behind the alleged plan and said they would follow up on the issue.
Other opposition party leaders similarly called for the truth about the alleged military plan in their parties’ parliamentary group meetings on Tuesday.
"The truth should be revealed immediately. There are three options: The document was either prepared based on the chain of command within the General Staff or based outside of the chain of command within the General Staff, or a forged document was prepared without the control of the General Staff," Deniz Baykal, leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, told his deputies in his party’s parliamentary group meeting Tuesday.
"We have seen many such similar documents and conspiracies, including those targeting me," he said. "But no result could be obtained. Time will show the truth, and I believe the Turkish military will do what is necessary."
Baykal also said the Turkish military’s approach to the issue was praiseworthy. If the document is proven to be true, then the necessary steps should be taken accordingly. But if it is proven to be forged, then the route to which Turkey is pushed would be understood, according to Baykal.
"We are at a historical turning point," Baykal said. "The allegations should be disclosed without any further delay."
Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli said in his party’s parliamentary group meeting Tuesday that the incidents showed there were still some who were inclined to be involved in anti-democratic efforts.
"The allegations are grave enough to put the Turkish military under suspicion. It is an important development for the military to launch an investigation into the incident," said Bahçeli. "The investigation should be finalized immediately, and the outcome should be shared with the public. If the allegations are proven to be true, then it will have grave results."
’No concrete evidence’
Meanwhile, Başbuğ told daily Hürriyet in an interview published Tuesday that the initial military investigation revealed that there was no concrete evidence regarding the military’s involvement in the preparation of the alleged plan to dismantle the AKP. "The military made its own investigation into the issue and no concrete evidence of the military’s involvement in the preparation of the alleged plan was found," Başbuğ said.
"The depositions of the relevant officials [who were said to have prepared the alleged document] were taken, and they said they didn’t initiate such a plan," he said. "Their computers were seized, and the technical examination of their computers likewise revealed no such document came out of those computers."
"The General Staff has displayed a sensitive approach to allegations about a military plan to finish off the AKP [ruling Justice and Development Party]," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan said in an address to his party’s parliamentary group meeting Tuesday.    Â
"The military launched an investigation into whether such a document was forged or real and also said they will follow up on the issue," he said. "Its approach has been met with satisfaction in the public opinion, but both military and civil investigations into the claims should reach a speedy conclusion."
ErdoÄŸan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Ä°lker BaÅŸbuÄŸ came together Tuesday in meeting that lasted more than an hour; their regular meeting normally takes place every Thursday.
The meeting came at a time when tension had seemingly risen between the General Staff and the Prime Ministry after daily Taraf ran a banner headline story last week on an alleged clandestine military plot targeting the AKP and a religious sect named after its controversial leader, Fethullah Gülen.
There was no statement after the meeting at the Prime Ministry, but in his address to his party’s parliamentary group meeting later Tuesday, Erdoğan gave moderate messages that aimed to reduce the tension.
In its Monday statement, the military announced that it came to the conclusion that no unit of the General Staff had prepared the alleged document, but the military was criticized by some media institutions for making ambiguous statements about whether the document was forged or real. Government officials, meanwhile, expressed their dissatisfaction with the army’s statement, asking for further military efforts to reach a conclusion on the issue.
"If the allegations are false and aim to provoke and cause confrontation between state institutions, that would be grave," ErdoÄŸan said.
"If the allegations are true, that would be even graver," he said.
Erdoğan also reiterated his government’s determination to take legal action to reveal who was behind the alleged plan and said they would follow up on the issue.
Other opposition party leaders similarly called for the truth about the alleged military plan in their parties’ parliamentary group meetings on Tuesday.
"The truth should be revealed immediately. There are three options: The document was either prepared based on the chain of command within the General Staff or based outside of the chain of command within the General Staff, or a forged document was prepared without the control of the General Staff," Deniz Baykal, leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, told his deputies in his party’s parliamentary group meeting Tuesday.
"We have seen many such similar documents and conspiracies, including those targeting me," he said. "But no result could be obtained. Time will show the truth, and I believe the Turkish military will do what is necessary."
Baykal also said the Turkish military’s approach to the issue was praiseworthy. If the document is proven to be true, then the necessary steps should be taken accordingly. But if it is proven to be forged, then the route to which Turkey is pushed would be understood, according to Baykal.
"We are at a historical turning point," Baykal said. "The allegations should be disclosed without any further delay."
Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli said in his party’s parliamentary group meeting Tuesday that the incidents showed there were still some who were inclined to be involved in anti-democratic efforts.
"The allegations are grave enough to put the Turkish military under suspicion. It is an important development for the military to launch an investigation into the incident," said Bahçeli. "The investigation should be finalized immediately, and the outcome should be shared with the public. If the allegations are proven to be true, then it will have grave results."
’No concrete evidence’
Meanwhile, Başbuğ told daily Hürriyet in an interview published Tuesday that the initial military investigation revealed that there was no concrete evidence regarding the military’s involvement in the preparation of the alleged plan to dismantle the AKP. "The military made its own investigation into the issue and no concrete evidence of the military’s involvement in the preparation of the alleged plan was found," Başbuğ said.
"The depositions of the relevant officials [who were said to have prepared the alleged document] were taken, and they said they didn’t initiate such a plan," he said. "Their computers were seized, and the technical examination of their computers likewise revealed no such document came out of those computers."